Apomixis is a naturally occurring mode of asexual reproduction in flowering plants; this process results in seed formation without the involvement of meiosis or fertilization of the egg. Apomictic processes bypass meiosis and fertilization, leading directly to clonal embryo formation. Apomictic hybrids are true-breeding hybrids because seed-derived progeny of an apomictic plant are genetically identical to the maternal parent. In other words, apomictic hybrids are clonal in origin.
Apomixis is characterized by: 1) apomeiosis, which refers to the formation of unreduced embryo sacs derived from nucellar cells of the ovary, and 2) parthenogenesis, which refers to the development of the unreduced egg into an embryo. Many types of plant species feature apomictic reproduction and can be propagated asexually.